Transportation Chief Warns of Project Delays

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma's transportation director says road projects across the state will face significant delays if the Legislature pushes forward with a plan to divert transportation funding to education over the next several years.

Director Mike Patterson updated members of the Oklahoma Transportation Commission on Monday about a bill passed by a Senate committee last week that would divert hundreds of millions of dollars from transportation directly to public schools.

The bill next goes to the full Senate, although Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman said last week he doesn't support the measure in its current form.

Patterson said the bill likely will delay completion of the agency's eight-year road and bridge construction plan by about four years, from 2018 to 2022.